Last week, Civil Eats ran an extended articleon a battle that’s gone to the Supreme Court over access to retailers’ SNAP benefits data. The article points out the many possible implications of this data release, including how plays into the conversation around whether (or, how) to use SNAP to shape Americans’ diets.

Back in 2007, Local Baquet ran an article by Bonnie Hudspeth on maple innovation and production in Vermont. Since then, maple production in Vermont has tripled to 1.8 million gallons a year and innovation seems to have entered a new golden (or perhaps amber) age. We did a quick maple innovation news round up for 2018 / 2019 to help everyone keep up with the some of the trends.

In 2015, the USDA funded a project for UVM researchers to engage in discussions with Vermont farmers about the idea of being paid for ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are things farmers do that improve the environment for everyone, a common example is grass-based farms capturing carbon in the soil as a way to combat climate change. Some services happen naturally through sustainable farming, others take more of an incentive to implement, and either way some policy makers believe that farmers shoudl be compensated for their contribution.

Recipes tagged with: Fermented

This is the perfect make-ahead party food: Have your pickled asparagus spears on hand and it takes just minutes to wrap them, rewarding you with an elegant presentation and a salty, tangy take on the classic app.

While winter turnips typically make their way into cold-weather soups and stews, small, delicate baby turnips are among the first early-season roots that lend themselves to pickling. For this dish I thinly slice the turnip pickles to reveal their rose-petal-pink interior and elegantly arrange them on plates so they can be properly admired before digging in.

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Our stories, interviews, and essays reveal how Vermont residents are building their local food systems, how farmers are faring in a time of great opportunity and challenge, and how Vermont’s agricultural landscape ties into larger questions of sustainability and the future of our food supply.